The Toxic Waste Beneath Some New Jersey Homes

For decades, a manufacturing company in suburban New Jersey has been downplaying investigations into the spread of toxic waste from its factory.

A new investigation by The Record and NorthJersey.com found the DuPont facility in Pompton Lakes has resisted looking into the toxic chemicals that have spread under more than 400 homes, releasing harmful vapors that pose serious health risks to residents.

Scott Fallon and James O'Neill co-reported the series. Fallon says there's evidence that the toxic plume has seeped into groundwater and soil, traveling off the company's site and vaporizing into basements, backyards, gardens, and playgrounds, among other places. He said documents from as far back as 1979 show a pattern of DuPont hiding and minimizing the danger.

Experts say it's hard to definitively link a particular pollution to specific illnesses, but The Record surveyed more than 50 households in the area of the plume and found many cases of different types of cancer linked to solvents in the plume, as well as other diseases.

Fallon told WNYC many residents want to leave, but are finding it difficult. "The home values have dropped considerably in the neighborhood," he said, "and when you invest your life savings in your home, it's hard to leave that at a considerable loss."

Fallon spoke with WNYC's Richard Hake.